


Hold Me Closer

by justdoityoufucker



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dancing Lessons, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:35:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23929285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justdoityoufucker/pseuds/justdoityoufucker
Summary: Gai is getting married.Gai is getting married, and he insists that Kakashi be able to dance at the wedding.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Comments: 4
Kudos: 125





	Hold Me Closer

Gai is getting married.

Gai is getting married, and he insists that Kakashi be able to dance at the wedding, as if Kakashi hasn’t spent most of his childhood in ballet classes. Though, in reality, Kakashi has no clue how to dance in most ballroom styles other than a basic East Coast swing, and Gai, being Gai, insists that he be able to waltz _and_ English waltz. Kakashi doesn’t know why he agrees to being a part of the wedding, really, but he does and he regrets it.

Okay, he does know why, it’s because Gai has been his friend since they were both in primary school and the other man doesn’t really have anyone to be his best man, but that doesn’t stop Kakashi from complaining.

-

He only vaguely knows Anko, and she has him cornered when he’s left the rink with his equipment in tow after practice, her phone in one hand and carrier with four coffees in the other.

“Oi, Hatake,” she flicks her sunglasses up onto her head and slips the phone in the pocket of her sweatshirt, “You’re coming with me.”

“Why?” he inquires, letting her grab his arm and drag him after her. He’s learned (through experience) that Anko should be listened to.

She manages to keep the coffee gracefully at head-height as they stop at two stoplights and enter a building that Kakashi has been in maybe once. “Because Gai texted me and said that you need to learn ballroom,” she finally explains when they’re climbing the stairs to the second floor of the dance studio, “and _I_ don’t have time right now, but Iruka does.”

_Fuck_. Iruka’s the hot one that Kakashi has only met twice, at the Halloween party that Gai had hosted, and at one of his practice sessions when they had all come back right at the beginning of term. All that Kakashi really remembers about him is that he’s studying dance and something else--maybe art? music?--and he has the most beautiful eyes that Kakashi has ever seen.

“--just don’t bend your back too far and you’ll be good,” Iruka is saying to a young woman with pink hair when they push into the studio. Without any surprise, he looks at Anko, says, “Can this wait? We were just finishing up.”

“It’s fine, Iruka,” the pink-haired woman says, waving a hand and leaning back to check the clock on the wall, “I should probably try to be to work on time, anyway.”

She collects a bag and water bottle, throws a sweatshirt on and waves to Anko as she leaves.

-

Anko explains everything too quickly for Kakashi to parse, then leaves two of the coffees and heads out.

Iruka looks from the coffee to Kakashi, asks, “ _Why_ do you have to learn how to waltz?”

“Gai,” Kakashi clarifies. “I, uh, do have somewhere to be in an hour.”

“That’s okay, I have work in,” Iruka tips back to look at the clock, “forty-five minutes. Gai isn’t getting married for a month, we can get together later.”

So they sit and drink coffee for half an hour while Kakashi explains why, exactly, he is having to learn how to waltz.

-

Iruka knows Gai’s mother, who is the reason, or at least knows of her and that gives Kakashi enough confidence that he will be properly taught.

But the physical closeness of the dancing is more than worth it, anyway.

-

It’s difficult scheduling any dancing lessons. They’re both working, going to school, and while Kakashi isn’t skating professionally this season he still tries to fit in practices as often as he can because he will be skating professionally next season. And then Iruka also has a couple of undergrads that he tutors at the studio. It ends up that half the time they meet early in the morning, before anything else, or over Kakashi’s dinner break.

He learns a lot about Iruka during those times. For one, he is _definitely_ a morning person, always annoyingly chipper when they meet outside the studio, and Kakashi has been getting up for practice or to do school work at five for the past two years, but it’s still damned difficult. Iruka also is studying art, not music, and half the time they have so much shit combined with them at the studio that it is a boon that nobody else uses it.

-

Anko bursts in on one of their successfully scheduled sessions, watches them trotting a fast waltz around the room before saying, “Hey, Iruka, could you refresh me on a mambo?”

They let go of each other, catch their breath, and Iruka says, “Why?”

“Mmmmmmmambo,” Anko finally hisses, wiggling between them to take Iruka’s hands. “Fuck this, let’s go, Ibiki can follow my lead but I don’t want to step on his feet, and his mom wanted to see us do a mambo.”

Iruka sighs, lets her take his phone out of his pocket and start a new song, and Kakashi sits on the floor next to the wall the holds the barre, is too keyed up to relax. There’s something about Iruka that just keeps him on edge whenever he’s in Kakashi’s proximity.

And there’s something about him doing a very tight mambo, despite his partner being Anko.

-

Iruka turns up at the rink one morning, coming in from the ice and snow to the near-solitude of the ice. Kakashi, from where he is in the middle of the ice trying to land a quadruple Salchow, falls flat on his face (for not the first time of the day).

After Kakashi waves his coach goodbye Iruka drags him to a coffee shop, orders for them, and refuses to let Kakashi fall asleep on the table.

“I have three recitals that I have to go to,” he says, running a hand through his half-up half-down hair, “and two finals that I’m giving to undergrads. Do you think we need to practice any more?”

Kakashi refuses to let his emotions get in the way and replies, “No, I should be fine. Thank you for helping me.”

Iruka smiles, tips his head to the side, “To be honest, it was fun. If you’re ever inclined to learn more ball, I wouldn’t say no.”

Kakashi is blushing but he ignores it, rather tactfully says, “I think the occasional painful ballet refresh is good enough for me.”

-

The wedding is mostly a blur, and Kakashi feels that Iruka’s presence would’ve made it much better that it is. There’s a lot of standing around in fancy clothes, and a lot of drunk people trying to hit on him.

The only relief is that it ends relatively early, because Gai and Shizune are heading to the airport first thing in the morning.

An added bonus is when Iruka texts Kakashi after the reception is done and over and invites him to Anko’s for New Year’s Eve.

-

They finish up a frankly violent go at Rainbow Road when Anko’s phone beeps, and the woman stretches across Kakashi and Genma to grab it.

“Oh, their flight was cancelled,” she says, “they’re stuck in Heathrow.”

“That’s what they get for having their honeymoon during the holidays,” Raidou says, disparaging, when he emerges from the kitchen with a new beer.

“Well, together they’ve never had much common sense,” Kakashi slides off the couch so the other man can take his place and his controller. “Do you remember Halloween?”

“Excuse me, those hotdog costumes were the highlight of my goddamn life,” Anko says, starting another race for those still seated. Kakashi is up in time to catch their food delivery when the college student pulls up to the house, pays the young woman with the pile of cash they had pooled, and releases the spring rolls to the masses.

Ibiki and Suzume leave the kitchen when he enters, already to the stage of drunkenness that brings sentimentality and singing, their arms around each other. Iruka is sitting at the island, his head in his hands, and he doesn’t even look up when Kakashi slides onto the stool next to him and pushes the rest of the bagged dim sum onto the countertop.

“You’d think,” the brown-haired man says, dragging his hands down his face, “that prior experience would discourage certain people from drinking whenever we all get together.”

“Ibiki?” Kakashi asks.

He opens the steamed buns and hands one to Iruka, who confirms, “Ibiki. Suzume is always like that.”

There’s some faint screaming from the living room, but both men ignore it.

“Coffee?” Iruka asks, scoots his stool back so he can flick the machine on when Kakashi nods.

-

By the time Anko changes the TV over so they can watch the ball drop, Suzume is asleep in her bed and Raidou is passed out on top of Genma in the armchair. Kakashi has ingested enough coffee that he is confident he will stay awake for at least another twenty-four hours, Iruka is drifting between fine and exhausted, and Anko is doing her best to not let Ibiki puke on anything or anyone.

Iruka falls asleep on Kakashi half an hour before the new year begins. While everyone else is screaming about the ball dropping, Kakashi can’t help but press just one kiss to the other man’s forehead.

-

Kakashi makes it home at around one, sleeps until five, and is out the door and at the rink by seven, feeling almost unfairly awake despite the late night. His coach isn’t coming in, and he has the rink to himself as long as he wants it, since it is closed for the holidays.

So Kakashi gets his jumps in and successfully lands a quad Salchow for the third time, comes out of some spins and just skates, doesn’t think about it, doesn’t think about anything. His hands are half-frozen by the time he decides that he should probably leave, and get some actual breakfast.

There is someone sitting where he left his tissues and water bottle, and Kakashi’s heart jumps to his throat when he sees that it is Iruka.

He looks more awake than Kakashi feels even after a couple of hours on the ice, and he stays on the bench when Kakashi slowly makes his way across the rink.

“Sorry I, uh, fell asleep on you last night,” Iruka says when Kakashi makes it over and is in the process of trying to blow his nose with stiff fingers.

Kakashi is touched, but he tries not to let it show, shrugs, “You really only missed the most horrifying make-out session of all time, courtesy of Raidou and Genma. And Ibiki barfing in the kitchen.”

Iruka grimaces, shakes his head, “Anko told me and I’m glad I missed it. But, still.”

-

Iruka follows him back, waits as Kakashi takes his skates off and replace them with shoes, and once all of his stuff is packed up they head outside the back door, which Kakashi locks behind them.

“How did you know I’d be here?” he asks when they round the building and start toward one of the few coffee shops that is open.

“You know,” Iruka has this fond, squinting look on his face, “You’re incredibly predictable.”

-

They end up walking to Kakashi’s apartment after his suggestion of video games and ignoring the existence of all of their drunk friends. With coffee in hand (and some pastries) Kakashi lets them in, sets his skating gear and the coffees down, and when he turns Iruka stretches up to him and he finds himself leaning down, and their lips meet perfectly and Anko and Gai are going to be _furious_ about how fairytale-perfect their first kiss is.

Iruka lets out a little breathless chuckle when Kakashi’s arms snake around him, lets his fingers brush Kakashi’s lips when he says, “We should’ve done that sooner.”

“Mm,” Kakashi cocks his head, “well, we can always make up for lost time.”

-

When Kakashi goes to the rink the next morning to practice, Iruka comes with him, and when Anko and Ibiki appear with coffee, she sees the hickeys and she _shrieks_ and yells, “Finally!”

**Author's Note:**

> i s2g i posted this before but i guess i didn't? anyway. on twitter @shortgoblin as always.


End file.
